Nanny McMurderer
by HummingAtNight
Summary: What happens when Beckett gets hurt on Castle and Beckett's second case together. Set during Nanny McDead (1x02).
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so I dreamed this happened and I thought it would make an interesting fic to explore so... enjoy! :)

* * *

"I know you didn't mean to kill her, Chloe," Beckett spoke calmly, clearly, whilst trying to ignore Castle by the door. Why wouldn't he just follow her orders? She couldn't risk him getting hurt, not when he has Alexis... The girl would never forgive her. Brief visions of anger from the 15 year old clouded her head, imagined the rage Alexis would feel for the detective putting her father in danger. "He's a writer, not a cop," she could almost hear the red head spit the words at her. "He was your responsibility, he trusted you to look out for him!" she would scream, tears streaming over the pale skin of her face as she brushed a lock of her flaming red hair out of her enraged eyes.

No. No, she couldn't let anything happen to Castle.

"She was my friend, you know? But she just... She didn't... She didn't get it," the detective caught what Chloe was saying as the knife she was holding cut deeper and deeper through her jeans, into her bloody skin. The crimson liquid was now oozing rapidly out of her self-inflicted wound and Beckett took another deep breath. She just needed to get everyone out of this alive.

"She didn't get how we felt about each other," Chloe continued. "So when... when she turned around, I just grabbed the bleach, and I hit her with it. And she fell. And I was so scared, I didn't... I didn't know what to do, so I j... I put her in the dryer. I was so angry!" the woman practically roared, her short brown hair now hiding her face. Beckett shut her eyes at the outburst wanting to make herself as small as possible in her vulnerable couched position on the floor. Kate still had her glock in her hand but she wasn't intending to use it unless she felt Chloe was a threat (or unless she needed to _remind_ Castle to stay where he was). But at the moment it seemed like Chloe was calming down, only getting her emotions out. Not a threat. Yet.

"You know, just so mad," Chloe finished.

It was now or never.

"Chloe, put the knife down, okay?" Beckett spoke, trying to keep her voice steady, although in this current situation it was proving tough. "Let me help you," she detective looked the nanny straight in the eye and Chloe looked down, beginning to lower the knife. "Just put the knife down," she tried again and the knife was almost released. So close. "Come on."

* * *

"No." she spoke suddenly.

No? Did she just...? And the knife was raised again, holding the hilt steadily with a firm grip. Castle's heart was in his mouth as the nanny marched towards the detective, a determined gleam in her eyes. Was she about to-?

It happened to fast, too quickly. Beckett was unable to lift up her weapon fast enough, and before Castle knew it the knife was plunged into Kate abdomen causing a horrifying groan to tumble from her lips and her pupils to dilate in shock. The knife was withdrawn from her body slowly generating another groan from the detective as she dropped to the floor.

Castle stood by the door in terror, trying to get his head around everything that just happened. He had to get to Beckett, had to apply pressure to her wound but there was one problem: Chloe.

She stood over Kate's body, knife still gripped in the palm her hand, snarling through her teeth and breathing heavily. The nanny turned slowly towards Castle – nothing was going to stop her now, nothing, and she proceeded towards the writer weapon wielded above her head, his breathing becoming erratic. She was almost there when...

Bang.

One shot to the back of the neck from the fallen detective and Chloe too fell to the floor.

"Detective Beckett!" Castle shouted as he ran over to the detective. He kneeled gently next to her, careful not to hurt her and put pressure on the wound, earning another groan from Kate.

"Come on Beckett, come on. You're going to be fine. Come on," but he was losing her quickly and her eyes soon fluttered shut.

"Kate, come on, look at me. Come on please, please. Stay with me, come on Beckett," and Castle supped her cheek. "Come on! Please!" and desperation entered his voice. Tears were starting to fill his eyes. No, she couldn't leave him. He only just met her, she couldn't. Not now.

With that Ryan and Esposito burst through the door, took a look at the distraught writer leaning over the cop and Chloe bleeding out onto the floor.

"We heard a shot," shouted Esposito as he and his partner rushed to Castle and Beckett.

"Shit," murmured Ryan as he saw the blood on Castle's hands and pulled out his phone dialling an ambulance as fast as he could.

"Chloe..."Castle began but the words stuck in his throat, unable to speak.

"It's okay bro'," Esposito said as he patted him on the shoulder and bent down next to Castle to check Beckett's pulse.

"Her pulse is still strong, keep applying pressure," he told Castle and before the three of them knew it they heard sirens outside.

The paramedics swooped in with an assortment of equipment and took the bleeding detective out on a gurney, each one of the paramedics screaming a string of words at each other in distress, trying to fulfil their individual roles. The writer almost spoke out and demanded to ride with Kate to the hospital, but it was too late. The siren was howling as the ambulance drove away from the building, diving into the oncoming stream of traffic, but all Castle do was stand there and watch with the other two cops. He couldn't help but wonder whether that would be the last time he would see her.

He quickly pushed that thought away as Esposito and Ryan led him into their Crown Vic and followed the ambulance to the hospital. He hoped he would see Detective Beckett again soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've had exams and still do but luckily I have a 2 week break until my next one so I'm able to update more often :D Enjoy! X Verity.

* * *

Everything was a rush, a blur, quick flashes of moments that were soon to be forgotten, even less likely to be remembered. They were in the hospital trying to see Beckett, desperate to find out how she is... if she'll make it.

No. No, Castle didn't want to think about it. To even dream that it's in the realm of possibilities that she might not make it.

Ryan, Esposito and Castle turn a corner, trying in vain to find a nurse who knows what the hell is going on with Beckett. They eventually find one emerging out of one of the patient rooms who informs them that Detective Beckett is still in surgery and probably will be for the next couple of hours.

The boys soon find themselves sitting on the blue, cold plastic chairs in the waiting room starring at the blank white wall opposite them not even murmuring a peep. They just couldn't get their heads around what had just happened. Sure, Beckett had got hurt on the job before, but nothing as bad as this.

Castle was still in a state of shock. He couldn't think, couldn't concentrate on anything other than watching Kate tumble to the floor, the knife still embedded into her body. He still had her blood on his hands, on his shirt... And the smell. Oh god, the smell. It was as if it was following him, haunting him, reminding him that it was _his_ fault. If only he had stayed outside the door like she asked, if only he could have protected her, if only Esposito or Ryan was there instead of him... They would've been able to save her. They probably would've shot Chloe before she even took a step towards Beckett. Oh, Beckett.

Over the next 15 minutes Castle thought about every single scenario Detective Beckett wouldn't have been hurt: if only he was armed, if only he had reacted sooner, if only Beckett was wearing her vest; until Ryan suddenly spoke up.

"Her dad," he croaked. "We should probably call her dad."

"I think I have his number from the last time Beckett ended up in the hospital. Let me go call him," murmured Esposito as he got up and paced down the hallway so that he could make the call in private, and it was not one he was looking forward to.

"This happen a lot?" asked Castle.

"Rarely. And if it does happen it's usually nothing more than a few stitches," he replied.

"So Beckett hasn't been shot, or stabbed before?"

"You'd have to ask Espo, he's been working with her for longer but I doubt she has."

"Great," Castle whispered. "Only my second week shadowing you guys and Detective Beckett's already been stabbed because of me."

"Castle, it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could've done. You already gave your statement to Espo, it's nobody's fault but Chloe's."

"But if I had been armed..."

"Then for all we know, you could've missed Chloe and we would still be in the same situation. You need to stop being so hard on yourself, Castle."

The writer sighed and leaned back into his chair as Esposito returned from calling Beckett's father.

"Jim's coming down. He was having a fishing trip with some buddies at his cabin; he'll be here in a few hours," said the detective as he sat back in his chair and the other two boys nodded in acknowledgement. "Yo, Castle. It looks like we'll be here for a couple hours. You can go home if you like."

"No way in hell," Castle replied sternly. "Not until I see she's okay."

"Fine, but you might want to at least call Alexis and Martha. Tell them what's going on."

"You're right," murmured the writer as he headed in the direction to where Detective Esposito had been on the phone before.

He didn't know how he was going to do this. He didn't know how he was going to tell his only daughter that the detective he had been shadowing got stabbed and that she's in hospital fighting for her life all because of him. Alexis will hate him for putting Kate in danger, and himself too for that matter. Castle didn't want his daughter to worry about him; she was too young for that. Alexis should be off with her friends, having fun and getting into trouble. She shouldn't need to think about her dad the whole time too.

Castle looked down at the cell phone in his hand and took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy.

He pressed 'speed dial 1' before he could think about it. Better just to get it out the way, he thought. Castle swallowed hard.

Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring.

"Hello Darling, what are you doing out so late?" It was his mother, thank god. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I thought you would be home by now," the red head continued, "Alexis and I were just going to call you... Richard, are you there?"

"Yes Mother, sorry, something's happened."

"What Darling?" Martha asked but she couldn't keep the worry out of her voice no matter how hard she tried. She hadn't heard her son sound so serious since he told her he was divorcing Gina.

"It's Detective Beckett; she got stabbed today as we were arresting Chloe."

"The gal who killed that nanny? Oh, what was her name? ...Sara?"

"That's the one."

"Oh Richard, how bad?"

"I don't know they took her into surgery, but it looked pretty deep."

"You were there when it happened?" No reply. The writer didn't even want to admit to himself that he had witnessed what happened never mind his mother, but she knew. "Oh Richard..."

"Would you mind telling Alexis for me? I just don't think I could..." Castle asked his voice wavering slightly.

"Of course Darling, just don't you worry about us. You just take care of that dear detective of yours and we'll see you when we see you."

"Thank you Mother," he spoke with sincerity.

"Don't mention it, kiddo." The writer smiled. In all the terror and darkness of the world at least is mother is still the extravagant diva that she always is.

Castle dragged himself out through the white double doors to join the two detectives. As he made his way over to them a doctor walked towards them.

"Hello, is this the family of Miss Beckett?" He was about mid 30s, had dark brown hair with pale green eyes and was dressed head to toe in scrubs.

"It's Detective actually," Castle said defensively.

"Of course," the doctor spoke. "Well I'm Doctor Johnson and I was performing the operation of Mi-, I mean Detective Beckett."

"And?" questioned Castle.

"And she's going to be fine." The boys sighed with relief. "The operation was a success but we'd like to keep her in recovery for a few days, check she's healing normally," the doctor spoke. "Then after a few weeks of physio and care she should be back to normal. I just need someone to fill out some forms for Detective Beckett."

The boys all looked at each other. "Urm," Esposito began "Her father is driving down and will be here in a few hours."

"She doesn't have a boyfriend or anyone who could fill them out?" The boys looked at each other again.

"Nope, sorry," said Esposito.

"Hmm, that's funny," said Doctor Johnson looking at Castle, "I would have thought that you were boyfriend."

"No, no. We're just friends," the writer replied quickly.

"I'll bet," the doctor spoke sarcastically, murmuring under his breath.

"When will we be able to see her?" Ryan asked.

"Soon. We just need to get this paperwork filled out and get her settled in recovery then she's all yours."

"Thank you," said the detectives as the doctor strode back down the corridor from where he had emerged.

* * *

Jim finally arrived two hours later, rushing into the hospital in a hurricane in fear for his daughter. "Where is she?" he demanded. "Where's my daughter?"

Castle shrank behind the boys as they stood up to greet the man, as knew the man better than he did. But then again, was it the fact that he felt partially responsible for what had happened to Beckett? The writer didn't know, but it felt as if it were a combination of the two.

In all honesty Castle had been surprised when Ryan had suggested to them to call her dad. He was sure that the detective had lost her father; she wore his watch every day to the precinct. It had to be him, right?

Clearly not.

Then who had she lost? He had to find out. But Castle wanted Kate to tell him herself, wanted her to feel at that point where that wall that stood tall inside of her crumbled down at least low enough to let him in and tell him _why_ she had become a detective. But sadly, he would have to wait.

"Mr Beckett," Esposito began, "Detective Beckett's okay and she's in recovery, but they won't let any of us see her yet. Doctor Johnson, who' been looking after Beckett, says he needs you to fill out some paperwork first."

"Of course," Jim sighed.

"I think one of the nurses has it," piped up Ryan. "I'll go get it for you."

"Thank you," responded Jim. "And you," he said spotting Castle, "must be Richard Castle."

"The one and only," the writer gave Mr Beckett a forged smile, unable to be cheerful under these circumstances. "You can call me Rick," he suggested, shaking the older man's hand.

"You know, Katie mentioned that you were following her round. For 'research', I gather?"

"Yes sir, I find it easier to write with some inspiration around."

Jim smiled at that. "Well it's an honour to finally meet you Rick, however unfortunate that it's because my daughter is in the hospital. She's been a fan of your work for years."

Oh, she had, had she? Mr Beckett grinned at the surprised look on the writer's face. "I take it she didn't tell you that."

"I... urm, no sir, no she didn't."

"You didn't hear it from me," smirked the man as Ryan reappeared handing Jim the papers. "Better start filling these in," Jim sighed again not wanting to think about his little girl hurt. Ever since he had been sober he had been terrified that Kate would get herself killed doing the work that she does. But having met Castle part of that worry had started to dissolve. He didn't know what it was about that man but there was something about him... something _protective_ about the way Rick felt about his daughter, and if he didn't know any better, he would call it love.


End file.
